When a place calls you — and changes your heart

Some stories begin quietly.
A single photograph appears out of nowhere — and you don’t yet know it’s calling you.

That’s how this painting began.
I saw an old Icelandic house. Something in me softened. I loved its history, its red glow in the landscape, its wild herbs, its silence. So I started painting it.

While painting, I discovered its exact location.
And I decided to visit it — on my birthday.

What waited there was beyond anything I expected.
Not far from the house is a cliff filled with puffins. When I stood there, the birds were so close I became a part of their flock.
It was so beautiful that tears filled my eyes.
They radiated peace, acceptance, and quiet trust.

I stayed with them until sunset.

And then I understood the message:

When you open yourself to unexpected beauty, it finds you.

That house became a lighthouse for me.
It led me to a moment that touched my soul so deeply that the spark of that evening remains with me forever.

Kate